Hello folks!! After my visit to Yao Yu’s letterpress studio earlier this week, I was intrigued to know more. So I decided to make a trip to a printing press, this time a more commercial one, which does tasteful letterpress printing of wedding cards.
The brand Papypress, run by the family that owns Precision printing, is only a four- year old venture. However, the parent company has a legacy of over 60 years in the printing business, run by the Koo family. I am welcomed to the studio by Corby Tan, who is married to the son of the family.
The family printing enterprise, focused mainly on offset and digital printing, until Corby decided to give a larger impetus to letterpress printing, which was done back in the day.
Corby with her team of 12 people, designs some classy wedding cards for her clients. Most of them are from Singapore, but she has worked for clients in countries like Australia, UK and US. “A lot of people from Australia choose to work with me in Singapore, as the turnaround time for producing wedding cards in Sydney and Melbourne is high. You have to wait 6 months sometimes to get a wedding card printed, some clients tell me,” says a beaming Corby.
Unlike handset letterpress printing, most of the printing at her studio is done through the modern letterpress printing method, using plates. At her studio, plates are made using rubber plastic, which is relatively cost effective. Compared to handset letterpress printing, this form of letterpress printing allows flexibility in terms of design. Corby shows me the letterpress machine, she has imported from the US.
Her focus is on the wedding market, as customers are willing to pay that extra buck for a once-in-a-lifetime event. Corporates do not use this form of printing much, as it is expensive. The corporate clientele is often limited to luxury retailers or boutique architecture and design firms.
Most of Corby’s learning has been hands-on, as she hails from a Computer Science background. “I have learnt while experimenting at the studio, and through online forums,” says Corby. For those who want an overview of the printing method, Papyress offers ad-hoc workshops, when it gathers a group of enthusiasts.
I love her designs and the especially the paper she chooses to print on. She tells me she loves working with 100% cotton papers like Crane, which are a tad expensive but give you an excellent feel-good factor.
Corby is making full use of her family’s resources. She often combines letterpress with other printing techniques like digital and foil stamping to create wonderful effects.
We wish her all the success, as she juggles her clients, and her journey ahead as a to-be mum.
Corby has been kind enough to sponsor one personalized Moleskine journal, worth $50 to one lucky winner. To participate, simply post a comment on which country Moleskine is headquarted.
To know more about Papypress, check out www.papypress.com
{Photos by My Red Palette}
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